The ongoing second wave of COVID-19 is estimated to continue for two to three more months, said Director of Public Health G. Srinivasa Rao, adding that infections by Delta variant of coronavirus will continue to spread among susceptible population — people who have not been exposed to the infection yet or those who are not vaccinated.
At a press conference here on Tuesday, the emphasis was on taking precautions such as wearing masks, observing physical distancing and practising hand hygiene, especially for people participating in festivals, weddings and other functions, or visiting entertainment spaces.
Along with Director of Medical Education K. Ramesh Reddy, Dr Srinivasa Rao explained the difference between the first and second waves of the pandemic. The latter said that while Alpha variant was prevalent during the first wave, Delta, the more infectious variant, spread widely in the second wave. They also mentioned the number of cases detected during the two waves.
The first wave started in the State last March, peaked in August, and started to peter out around November. The daily caseload fell to less than 200 by end of February. Signs of the second wave were observed in March this year and the peak came around the third week of April to the first week of May, and started to decline in June. Currently, around 700 infections are detected in a day.
Occupancy of hospital beds in the State has been static is the past 20-25 days. Apart from bed occupancy, oxygen consumption by patients too is tracked to know if there is any spurt in the cases. When asked, Dr Ramesh Reddy said neither the oxygen bed occupancy nor oxygen consumption has increased in the past few days.
